Hi!

Concentrating on coloring - I don't think she had ever held a crayon before last week but she's already improving!

I took out her braids at bathtime and let her have her "fro" for the night! She and Nick splashed and giggled together in the tub - it was adorable! And she is mommy's little helper, copying everything I do! She LOVES the laundry! Teddi (new nickname short for Ted-i-kwah) fell asleep here minutes after this picture and we scooped her up and everyone slept in our room (except Snoopy, Daddy and Nick are getting him now - eek).

Look at the face of a cherub!

Quickie update of home pics. I just took last night and today... I'll post about THE TRIP another time but just so you guys aren't hanging, the reason it was "horrid" was because of her reaction (or shear hatred) towards us. The trip and Ethiopia itself was the most amazing experience - visiting the birth family and the long journey to them was so extraordinary that I don't know that any words will ever do it justice. It was unlike any scenery I had ever witnessed and I will forever have those couple of days in my memory by sight, sound, and smell.

Addis and the Wide Horizons experience was beautiful, it was so different than I had expected and I really saw the beauty in the city and also the people - ugh, so beautiful.

The reason that we were there was the only part of the trip that was utter hell. At one point I ran out of the room she was in bawling, I was trying to think of a way out of the whole thing and if we'd be able to book a flight home, alone. Being convinced that I had just f'd up my little happy family of three rocked me and made vomit sit at the top of my throat for days.

And then, it began to lift, like peeling an onion, skin by skin she began to acknowledge me/us. We have a ton of work left to do but what has occurred in the past week is nothing short of a miracle. She is tremendous and every single bit of a diva and little baby all rolled into one. I never thought that a three year old would make my heart race and my hands tremble at the thought of having to see her again on those days but she had the power to scare me like I've never been scared in my life. She was a dream come true coming home and slept almost the entire time - whew! None of us got ill and we are beyond blessed for that fact. We are only slightly tired and life/laundry/shopping is all in order! The house is now complete and ready to keep us all happy for the week! MP has the week off too!

I'm so excited to talk about the details of the trip and of our little peanut - we are so blessed... If you want to know what she sounds like before I get around to posting video then just remember "Boo" from Monster's Inc.... that is her voice and giggle!! :) And she just did it! She's sitting behind me on the office chair tracing the tattoo on my lower back (what's with my kids and touching my back anyway)??!!

There are very few pictures of our trip with her for the reasons above but I will share a few of the less painful ones in the coming days. God put a mountain in front of us last week and we have certainly braved the worst of it and can't wait to enjoy our new life together as a family of four.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK (not like tomorrow or anything crazy) and explore more of the intoxicating country of Ethiopia - and when I say intoxicating I mean it.